By the time my head’s back in the conversation, Troy and Angie are dumping their empty plates and heading off.
“Don’t lose sleep over it, Cash. They’ll love you,” Troy says so only I can hear just before he walks away.
“Sure thing.”
Piper grabs the two of us fresh drinks as we make our own rounds, running into people she knows from the physio room and some of the guys that I like on the team.
Thankfully, Duncan is not here. I wouldn’t have the energy to put up with him tonight.
“Donation?” Nick asks, coming up to the two of us.
“For what?” Piper asks.
“The food bank. Bexley makes a donation for the holiday season, but we’re getting the players to donate.”
“We?” Piper quirks a brow at him as she pulls a twenty from her purse and drops it in the jar.
I pull out a small handful of bills and push them in.
“The Black Diamonds.”
He’s off to the next grouping of people before we can question him further.
Nick works his way through the crowd as a mic gets tapped, and we see Coach Barney has taken the mic from the DJ.
“I’d like to say a few words before we wrap up tonight.We’ve had a great start to the season, and while I’m thankful for that, I’m mostly thankful for the great group of men we have in this room. We have some new guys here that we’re sharing this tradition with. I know we all have lives outside of the rink?—”
“We do?” someone yells from the back.
“I get it, I get it.” Coach laughs. “But I want to thank the families for sharing their husbands and partners with us. It’s not easy what we do. We’re gone for long stretches, often missing birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. So thank you for giving them to us so we can all play the game we love.”
“You can have them longer if you need!” a wife pipes up from somewhere.
Laughter breaks out among the wives.
“Sorry. It’s time for you to have them back. If you’re a Black Diamond, time for curfew.”
Everyone breaks out into laughter at Coach’s final words.
It has its intended effect, breaking up the party. Guys start gathering kids and heading out.
“We’ll catch a drink this week,” Angie tells Piper. “Nice seeing you, Cash.”
“You too.”
The drive back to Piper’s place is quiet, both of us lost in our thoughts.
Tonight was fun. Something I didn’t think I’d have.
Piper fits in easily with these people. Too easily.
I’ve been alone for so long; I don’t know how to bring someone into my life. I made room for Puck because the team hosted an adoption event a few years ago. I couldn’t say no to his face.
“Thanks for a great night, Cash.”
“Night, Princess.
Chapter Eleven
